CHAPTER 255: ARE YOU SURE YOU’RE NOT AN NPC?

"Where is this place?"

Zarek felt extremely groggy, and his entire world was disoriented for a moment.

The old woman and the little girl who were sitting on the mattress were the only thing that he could see right now, which filled his mind even more with confusion.

’Just what is going on?’ he thought in his heart with a strange expression.

Then he heard their murmurs, faint but very distinct in his ears.

"Please save my son, Milord."

"I don’t know about you, and I only have my human god as the true god. However, if you were able to help Papa recover, then you will definitely get my hidden treats."

"..." Zarek looked at them in silence. "So they are the prayers of my image, huh."

He looked at a bright grey energy they were emitting. Even without looking with his skill, he instinctively knew about this energy.

This was fate energy and the lowest of its kind; the purer the fate, the more white it will be.

Honestly, Zarek was pretty impressed by the fact that these two could already produce fate energy depending on their selfish desire, but this selfish desire was not directed at themselves but instead to their loved ones, which changed things a little and also the fact that they were pure at heart.

A lot of things went into consideration of getting fate energy, and most of the time, even a thousand believers couldn’t produce a single strand of fate energy.

Zarek instinctively understood all the information that directly appeared in his mind, an effect of receiving fate energy for the first time.

The grandmother and her granddaughter had produced a total of ten units of fate energy for him.

Zarek began converting the fate energy, and eight strands of it transformed into a single strand of low-level divine energy.

He wasn’t too disappointed, though.

After all, it came from only two individuals, and not much time had passed since he had bestowed his sacred image upon the Naga and the Telekinetic Master.

But even in that short time, they had already begun yielding him results. This group might prove valuable in spreading his sacred image far and wide.

Then, with a silent will in his heart, Zarek shifted his vision, it now fell upon a frail man sleeping with a pale, lifeless face.

’Alright, I’ll grant the favor.’

Zarek channeled two strands of fate energy into the man.

Instantly, the man’s pale skin regained a glossy glow, and his frail body transformed into one brimming with vitality. He not only recovered fully but also had his lifespan extended by at least five more years.

’I could’ve done it with just one strand,’ Zarek thought, glancing at the grandmother and the little girl. ’But even then, he wouldn’t have had much time left. It’s much of a loss.’

He slowly parted his lips and spoke words that the man would hear after he woke up: "You are lucky your mother and your daughter are good. Keep them well-fed and healthy, otherwise I will end you just as I healed you."

Zarek opened his eyes again, back to the darkness of the underground.

Feeling an extra strand of energy circulating around his body, he nodded with satisfaction.

The improvement to his body was really just huge from his estimation, it had increased by at least twenty times, and this was just a rough estimation, and a lowball at that.

He would need to test out his strength if he wanted to know the power of his body, and luckily he had the perfect candidate for it.

But Zarek was a little hesitant. He wasn’t even confident in fighting a Telekinetic Paragon, and fighting her, who was obviously stronger than a Telekinetic Paragon, the chance was completely minimal.

Especially since she too could use Divine Energy and made that woman sealed in his consciousness entirely out of Divine Energy, it was obvious that she wasn’t a beginner either.

And with countless human prayers praying and supplying her with fate energy, Zarek couldn’t dare to imagine how powerful Mirabella had truly become.

"Was the Excalibur also a ploy that you guys made up?" Zarek scoffed with a sneer.

"No," the woman spoke out from his consciousness.

"Hmm?" Zarek frowned when he heard this. "Explain."

"The prophecy is true. It was written in the ancient texts of the Divine Temple," she said. "Mirabella tried to lift the sword too and she could easily. With Divine Energy, lifting it isn’t difficult. But you, you lifted it through sheer brute force. That alone is astonishing. But, what truly matters is not lifting it, but wielding it and that, even Mirabella couldn’t do."

She let out a soft sigh. "The prophecy never spoke only of lifting the sword, it spoke of using it. And according to those same texts, the one destined to do so hasn’t even been born yet."

Zarek, who had just begun to turn away, stopped.

He stood still for a moment, then silently turned back and descended into the abyss once more.

Although it was called an abyss, the crack wasn’t particularly massive—only about ten kilometers deep.

On Earth, that would have been considered unimaginably deep. But here, in this world far grander in scale, it was relatively shallow.

As Zarek descended and landed at the bottom, darkness enveloped him. Butt, his vision remained clear, his eyes had already adapted to the shadows.

There, resting silently on the cold ground, was the simple black sword.

Zarek stepped forward and reached for it.

"Ho?" he muttered in surprise, lifting the blade effortlessly.

Unlike before, when it had taken every ounce of his strength just to budge it, this time, even the lightest touch was enough to raise it into the air.

This wasn’t due to an increase in strength, it was because he now possessed divine energy. After all, the force he had exerted just now wasn’t even a millionth of his true power.

"This holy body, combined with the strengthening of my soul, has really boosted my control over my body," he muttered, scratching his chin with a nod of approval.

Then, lifting his gaze, he bent his knees slightly and pushed off the ground with raw power. The earth beneath him cracked like a spiderweb under the pressure, and in the next instant, he shot upward, landing smoothly on the surface once again.

Flexing his muscles like a seasoned bodybuilder, he gave a satisfied nod, his eyes gleaming.

"Amazing."

With that, he turned and walked away, silently calculating something in his heart.

Now, it was even easier for Zarek to run away. But if he were branded a traitor, all his carefully laid plans would be shattered.

Building a good reputation has been difficult enough, but it will only take one small push to trigger a domino effect that could completely destroy it, and with it, everything he had worked for, for this clone to control the human race would crumble.

He had to stop Mirabella at all costs.

Zarek’s mind raced, searching for a way forward as he emerged from the underground. Then, suddenly—

"You... you, how are you here?" A woman’s panicked voice cut through the air.

He turned towards the voice and spotted a woman skidding as she walked with a sadistic smile, her golden hair fluttering in the wind, her gleaming golden pupils filled with a peculiar gaze. There was a group of people behind her.

And these people were carrying a long-green-haired woman who was constantly panting and her eyes dimming, bound in chains.

"Alice." Zarek narrowed his eyes.

"How are you here...!?"

She backed away instinctively, wanting to escape, but how could he give them any chance?

Zarek raised his palm, and telekinetic energy immediately surged from it. The woman froze in place, while the men around her couldn’t even scream before their bodies burst apart, their bloody organs scattering everywhere.

The chains cracked, and Melissa was instantly freed from her bindings. She floated directly in front of Zarek.

He looked at her with a chuckle. "Have you become so weak?"

"Hmph... This is because she drugged me..." Melissa said, panting constantly.

"Still, you are weak," Zarek said with a tone of disdain.

"You are weak, you bastard..." Melissa cursed.

"No, I am not weak by any means."

He chuckled and shook his head, then focused on Alice. Her face was filled with fear, sweat constantly dripping as her pupils darted around, carefully avoiding Zarek’s gaze.

Her body was immobilized; she couldn’t muster any strength.

"Alice, Alice, I was coming to search for you, but I didn’t expect you would deliver yourself to me so easily." Zarek walked step by step, coming directly in front of her.

His blue pupils locked onto hers.

He freed her mouth.

Alice could finally speak again; her lips trembled as she muttered, "What do you want to do? My mother will kill you if you try to harm me..."

"Ah, the classic cliché line," Zarek smirked. "Are you sure you’re not an NPC?"